Fantasy sports: There's value with Astros, Cubs

Saturday

May 31, 2014 at 11:36 PMJun 1, 2014 at 12:09 AM

By Josh Bousquet

For the last two years, I have felt compelled to write about the Houston Astros and the incredible level of awful they achieve. The team claims to have a plan, though, and apparently still believes its stockpile of young talent will pay off at some point.

After winning the first two games of a series against the Orioles, maybe it's time to concede that there may be something to that belief. That gave Houston seven straight wins entering Saturday, after all. Before I get too far ahead of myself, though, may it also be noted that the positive streak followed four straight losses.

Regardless, we can at least remove the Astros from the absolute cellar of awfulness. Their 24-32 record after that game was still far from great, but it did include five more wins than the Cubs, who are the new owners of the mantle of despair with a 19-33 record.

The plight of the Cubs came to mind this week when I read that starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija was second in the National League with a 1.68 ERA, which now even leads the league. This had apparently escaped my attention since Samardzija's record was only 1-4.

Add in his 1.07 WHIP, .216 opponents' batting average and 64 strikeouts in 75 innings, and he should definitely be doing better than his record indicates.

It seems Chicago just can't give their new ace a lead, for if they could, Hector Rondon is at the back of the bullpen with a 1.59 ERA that should be able to secure most advantages, yet he has only six saves.

Looking at the Cubs' lineup from a fantasy manager's perspective looks like they were not allowed a pick through the first 10 rounds. They have some players who are serviceable, but no superstar to give the jolt needed to bring it all together.

Which unfortunately removes a good rhyming-scheme chance, since Mike Olt leads the team with nine homers, but only has a .165 batting average. Rumors abound, however, that John Sterling still hopes the Yankees bring him to the Bronx.

Low batting average is the Cubs' bane this season. Emilio Bonifacio's early-season heroics have cooled off — the former hottest of hot pickups is again available in a third of ESPN fantasy leagues — as a .204 average through May has him at .271 for the season. He does still have 12 steals (yet only two in May), so he may be worth keeping an eye on if you need help in the speed department.

Junior Lake, at 24 years old, may be the best fantasy prospect, batting .258 with 9 doubles, a triple, 6 homers and 6 steals. He only has 19 RBIs and 17 runs, but those numbers can be blamed as much on the team around him as on any personal flaws.

Much like the rest of the team, which could has some nice pieces, but isn't working enough as a whole to make any stars.

Springer into action

And now for old time's sake, let's talk about the Astros anyway.

A big part of their winning streak has been the play of George Springer. Although possibly not the hottest player in the majors (that nod may need to go to Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion, see chart), he is probably the second hottest after a blast Thursday night gave him seven homers in seven games.

Springer joined the big-league team midway through April, but showed little early as he batted .182 with no homers and struck out 19 times over 14 games through the end of the month.

He is batting .306 in May, though, with a .398 on-base percentage and .673 slugging percentage. He has 10 total homers for the month, has driven in 25 runs and scored 22 times. His 35 strikeouts in 98 at-bats is still high, but the 24-year-old is making up for it elsewhere.

The recent power surge could be a good sign of things to come.

Before going to Houston, Springer already had three homers in 13 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City. In 135 games in 2013 between OKC and Double-A Corpus Christi, he had 37 bombs in 135.

In 284 games in the minors, Springer batter .302 with a .959 OPS. He also was selected as the best defensive outfielder and best outfield arm in the Astros organization multiple times, so he may be good enough to stick around even if he hits a slump. So we may be seeing the arrival of a new fantasy star.

So take solace, Cubs fans, there's a chance you also could produce a star eventually. Even the Astros have pulled it off.

Contact Josh Bousquet at jbousquet@telegram.com.

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